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CLOVER SPRING
Williams
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| Clover Spring |
On a mountain with no
shortage of summit-busting hiking trails, it takes will power to
swerve off the epic routes onto one with a subtler kind of charisma.
Whether bypassed due to time constraints, bad weather or dwindling
supplies, secondary routes often get ignored in favor of heavily
travelled arterial trails. Clover Spring Trail #46 epitomizes the joy
to be found on the little trails that compete for love with the
summit routes on Bill Williams Mountain.
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| Trough at Clover Spring |
More an option than a
diversion, this shady, moderate path is toggled to challenging Bill
Williams Mountain Trail #21 and can be hiked as either a short loop
or an alternative leg that adds less than a mile to the standard
summit route. The "C"-shaped connector moves through
beautiful woodlands overlooking the city of Williams. A short section
of climbing among lichen-cloaked boulders precedes the arrival at a
rustic concrete trough marking Clover Spring. Don't expect to find
water, though. The spring runs best only during spring snow melt
season. Beyond the spring, the trail continues on to Buckskinner
Park, a municipal recreation site with its own trail system and
fishing lake. To find Clover Spring Trail from the trailhead, hike
0.15-mile on Trail #21 and turn left at the signed lower junction.
Continue 0.85-mile to the spring located just beyond the upper
junction. Back track to the turnoff, hike 0.6-mile then either turn
right and follow the signs back to the trailhead or continue up to
the mountaintop.
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| Pine-oak forests shade the trail |
LENGTH: 3-mile loop or 9.4 miles with
summit hike
RATING: moderate
ELEVATION: 6,900' - 7,200' (9,250' with
summit)
GETTING THERE:
From Interstate 40 in Williams, take
exit 161, go south on Railroad Ave. and follow the signs to the
trailhead across from the Williams District Ranger Station.
INFO: Kaibab National Forest
MORE PHOTOS:
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